Out of the Home Office, they stood on the pavement. “Dave, they want you, what are you going to do?” “I will help them all I can, our home is in Loughborough, I’m not moving, I like it there. But more than that, I love you, I won’t do anything to jeopardise our relationship.” She put her arm through his as they walked down the street looking for a taxi. Jane Goodley looked the same as last night, her eyes were closed. Ruth was sitting on the chair beside the bed, her hand on Jane’s, Sally asked how she was. “She didn’t have a very good night, they took her down this morning to fix the bone, I think the pain is worse now. She may be let out tomorrow, if she is healing.” “How are you?” “Tired and hungry,” “We will take over if you want to have a break and eat,” “I haven’t any money with me, I forgot my purse.” Dave took out his wallet and handed her £100, “pay me back later.” Ruth asked Sally to go with her, he replaced Ruth, his hand rested on Jane’s. Around ten minutes later, he felt Jane’s hand slip out from under his, it was put back on top of his. She gripped his hand gently, he looked at her face, “David?” “Yes,” she didn’t say anything else, there was the hint of a smile, her eyes never opened. In the restaurant, Sally was being quizzed, Ruth wanted to know how Sally could switch between being a ‘normal person’ one day, a gunman the next, then back to being ‘normal’. “I don’t know, it just happens.” Sally asked how her and Jane’s relationship was fairing. “We talk and talk, I think we are different people now. I love her, I told her a few nights ago, if it works out, it will be different to how it was before. Now I am happy to look after Jane, before we were both ambitious, I am much more settled now. I only need love and happiness, it probably sounds twee, but it’s true.” “I hope it works out for you.” “We are returning to Loughborough tomorrow, if Jane is stressed, you can come to us for a few days to escape London.” “Do you work for Jane?” “No, officially, we don’t work for anyone.” Ruth looked at her, “please, I can’t say any more.” When they returned, Jane’s eyes were still closed, Ruth sat down again. “Jane, we’re going now, speak to me when you can, concentrate on getting better, don’t rush back to work. Ruth will look after you.” He bent down to kiss her on the forehead. Sally kissed her on the cheek, Ruth also had hugs and kisses, “remember you are welcome to come and stay.” They took a taxi back to the hotel, instead of going in, Sally pulled Dave towards the park nearby. “I want to be in the open, I need to think.” Dave knew how she felt, it’s easy to pull the trigger, it’s not easy to cope with how you feel afterwards. He sat beside her on a bench, his arm was on the back resting on the wooden slat. Neither of them spoke, Sally had no idea how long they had been sitting, a couple of times she had shuffled about to sit more comfortably. Dave spent his time either with his eyes closed or people watching. She moved herself closer to Dave, his arm instinctively went onto her shoulder, he nudged her even closer. “Is it always like this?” “The first time is the worst, it’s never easy, but you learn to deal with it. Think what would have happened if you hadn’t pulled the trigger. You probably saved mine and Jane’s life.” There was silence again for a while. Sally stood up, she wiped her eyes with her hand, “let’s go, I want you to take me to bed.” As they undressed, she said she only wanted to be held, “just hold me.” Lying across his chest he said it was OK to cry, “if it’s inside, let it out, don’t bottle it up. Remember, I’ve experienced exactly the same feelings you are having now.” The tears flowed, not for Sir George Dawson, it was a release of the tension she felt inside. At dinner, Sally was quiet to begin with, but perked up as the meal went on. The food was good and she may have had one too many to drink. “Ruth asked me how I managed to be two different people, I said I didn’t know, how do you manage it?” “I try to put it in a different part of my mind, somewhere I don’t go, if I think about it, I try to put the thought back where it belongs, most of the time it works, but it is always there, lurking under the surface. Can I ask you a question? Having done it once, in the same situation, would you hesitate before pulling the trigger again?” Dave had been asked the same question, he hoped Sally would answer correctly. “No, he was a threat, my job was to eliminate the threat.” Dave thought it was a better answer than he gave. They finished their coffee and climbed the stairs for the last time on this visit, A porter brought down their cases while they ate breakfast. Paying the bill, he booked a room for next Thursday, he was asked if he wanted to book for the Friday as well. Sally said no. In the taxi to the station, she said she wasn’t coming down next week. “I want to spend time at home, relax and do nothing, maybe play tennis or go out for a drink with Olivia and Michael.” It was a quiet journey on the train, both were deep in their own thoughts.
In Manchester, a detective and a policewoman walked up the drive towards the home of Sir George Dawson, they had a job to do, it was one every police officer hated. Susan Dawson watched them as they approached, Police at the door was nothing unusual. When the door was opened, they introduced themselves, “my husband isn’t here, he is in London.” The detective asked if they could come in, sitting in the lounge he said it was about her husband, Sir George. “What has he done this time?” “Lady Dawson, I have sad news for you, George Dawson was killed yesterday in London.” She looked at them both, the policewoman asked if she was OK. “Yes, yes, I’m alright, would you repeat what you just said.” She was told again he had been killed. “This isn’t some sort of a joke is it?” “No, as far as we know he was killed yesterday morning.” “You are saying George Dawson is dead, there is no possibility you have made a mistake?” He shook his head, “How did he die?” “I understand he was shot.” “Miserable nasty bastard, he got what he deserved, I would have loved to have done that years ago, he got what was coming.” The two looked at each other, the policewoman wondered if it was shock. “I know it’s a bit early, but would either of you like a drink to celebrate?” “The policewoman asked if she was OK. “I feel great, I hated him, today is going to be a great day. No more being shouted at or having to hear him swear at me. Thank you for letting me know.” She went over to the drinks cabinet and poured herself a large vodka, the glass was topped up with tonic water. “Do you want us to arrange for a relative or friend to come and stay with you?” “Why would I want that?” “To help as you begin to grieve,” “I won’t be fretting over him, I suppose I will need to arrange a funeral for him, you will have to tell me where the body is, I will speak to the undertakers tomorrow. If there is nothing else, you don’t need to stay.” Walking back to their car, Susan Dawson watched them, she was smiling, today would be the start of a new future, she was free to be herself, she mourned the death of her son every day, the pain would never go away, she had always blamed her husband, but never to his face. He had pushed Peter to go to university, shouted and swore at him in the same way he did to her. He wanted to stay close to his mother, but Sir George wanted to make a man out of him. “Learn to stand on your own two feet,” he would shout. Peter, having graduated, stayed in Cambridge, he didn’t want to be anywhere near his father, he looked on him as being the establishment and resented others like him. Falling in with a group of graduates with similar views, he had become more politically active, they sat in pubs and flats planning what they would do. One had suggested, if they were armed, they could advance their objectives. Weapons were acquired, the rest, that took place after that, she didn’t think about.
Sally unpacked once Dave had taken the suitcase upstairs, the clothes she had bought on Thursday were still in bags. She felt flat, not upset, or regretful about Friday, she had been on a high, pumped up with adrenalin, now it was back to the day to day life, she couldn’t tell anyone other than Dave how she felt. There was counselling available if she required it, but she didn’t need to talk about it. Olivia, would question her about the weekend, there was nothing she could say. She shouted for Dave, “I need to talk to you, can we go out?” They walked without saying anything. In the park, they sat on a bench away from other people. “How do I cope with the secrets, I’ve got what I did, straight in my head, it’s keeping it all bottled up, I’m not sure if I can do it. Tomorrow everyone will be talking about the weekend, I can’t say I’ve helped save the head of MI5.” “There are plenty of things you can say, tell them about your shopping, the meals out we had, say you spent time at a hospital seeing one of my friends who had broken her collarbone. You went to see Jane, we made love a lot, better not say about the last one.” Sally laughed. “You have to talk up what we did, no one expects a minute by minute account of your weekend, they’re only asking you, so they can tell you about what they did. It’s difficult at first, but you become an expert at it. You haven’t lied, just economical with the truth. Olivia will pester you the most, but I will have a word with Michael tomorrow.” Sally talked for ages, Dave answered as many of her questions as he could, at other times, he listened. This was her therapy, she was talking to someone who had gone through the same as she was now. “Dave, you got me into this, I was an unhappy widow before you knocked on my door, look at me now, working alongside one of the best, if not the best, operatives the government has. I love you.” “I love you too.” He kissed her on the cheek, they both stood up and walked towards home. “Do you feel better for having talked.” “Lot’s of it was probably nonsense, but it was in my head, it had to come out.”
Sally carried on from where they left off, Dave rustled up a meal from what was in the fridge, they sat watching TV as they ate, each had a can of lager. The news was on, a picture of Sir George Dawson was on the screen. Dave turned up the sound. The report said, he had been shot and killed along with two of his staff, while checking over one of his properties in London, one other suffered a knife wound. Members of the Metropolitan Police Tactical Support unit were training nearby and rushed to the scene to assist the local police. Several firearms were recovered. Four men have been arrested and are helping the police with their enquiries. Dave muted the sound. “There you are, the whole thing explained in thirty seconds, no mention of Jane, our presence is explained away, it’s made to sound like the four arrested were the ones doing the attacking. Perfect. It will be in the papers tomorrow, as the week goes on, interest will be lost, people will forget about it. In two weeks, no one will remember.”
Before going to bed, Sally laid her clothes out for the morning, Dave was up at the same time, he made breakfast for them both, Sally was her normal self. “If you need to call me…” he didn’t need to finish the sentence. He kissed her as she left. Alone he called Michael, “Sally was helping me over the weekend again. Can I ask you to speak to Olivia, I would like it if she didn’t push Sally to say what she was doing.” Michael wanted to know if everything was OK. “It wasn’t Sally’s best weekend.” “Come and see me, if it gets too much.” Dave thanked him for the offer as he did every time it was made. He stuck on the magnetic Uber signs, switched on the app and waited, as he drove towards the ‘greasy spoon’, he accepted the first job on his screen. Pick up from the railway station going to the university. There were plenty of small local jobs, at 12:30, he was sitting in the café with a sausage and bacon roll, a steaming mug of coffee was in front of him. Other drivers were sitting talking and eating. Dave joined in, he loved the chat, it could be picked up or dropped at any time. Phones pinged and drivers left, they were replaced by others. He stayed much longer than he should, he was happy sitting there. This was the perfect antidote to the weekend. He didn’t leave until after 14:30, he picked up more local jobs, before finishing at 17:00. Sally was sitting at the kitchen table when he walked in, “coffee or lager?” “I’ve drunk way too much coffee even for me, lager please. How was your day?” “I was a bit scared as I walked in, I felt self-conscious, as if everyone knew what I had been doing, but nobody asked much, maybe I overthought all this.” The fridge was full, Sally had been to Tesco’s, she cooked their meal while Dave drunk his lager, she asked what was planned for tomorrow. “I want to ring Jane, I want her side of the story to finish my report, hopefully I can see her on Friday. I want to look at someone else’s record and then I am finished, we can do whatever you want.”
At 09:30, he phoned Jane Goodley, it took a couple of goes to get through, each time he called he was cut off. “I have a new phone, and only one hand I can use, sorry about that.” Dave’s first question was about how she was feeling. “I’ve been better,” he next asked about Ruth. “She is here looking after me.” From the tone of her voice, he guessed this would be a business call, “Jane, I have a report to finish off, when can we meet to discuss the events leading up to your rescue?” “Later in the week please,” “I’m in London, late Thursday and all day Friday.” “Phone me on Friday morning, we will do it then, depending on how I feel.” Sally was sitting beside him, he fired up the laptop, “Who are you checking up on?” Dave didn’t reply, he chose the MOD site first, he thought this would be the more likely one. Opening up the personnel section, he typed in ‘Michael Parkes’, “you can’t do that, it’s Michael.” Before he pressed enter, he asked Sally if there was any reason he shouldn’t continue. “No, he’s my best friends husband, it’s not right.” “There is something I can’t put my finger on, he understands me a little too well, not as well as you do, but he knows about the stress of the job. I’ve been meaning to do this for ages.” His finger hovered for a second before he pulled it away, he would do it another day. Either that or ask Michael directly. He closed the laptop, “let’s go out.” Sally drove to her favourite place for walking, the leaves were beginning to turn, it was quiet compared to a warm weekend when the place was too busy. Taking one of the lesser used paths, they walked away on their own. Sitting on a rock, the sun was warm on their faces. “We should have gone running rather than walking, it would do us both good.” Sally protested, “I want to be with you, not a few paces behind getting out of breath trying to keep up.” By the time they returned to the car, they had walked a couple of miles. Lunch was in a pub, it was 16:00 when they left to drive home.
© 10210ken 2025
